Pacers game report

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

It was a good night to check out the new team. Nobody was there, so I bought a $10 ticket on the street and sat center court 10 rows up. It was like a tomb in there, but the Wolves provided the energy. It's actually kind of fun to watch a game where you can here all the chatter on the court (earmuffs, children ;) ) and from the coaches.

Everyone played except Wiggins Turiaf and Barea. Flip says Wiggins has a sore butt from his fall Monday, and although he was dressed, he was too sore to even shoot pre-game and at halftime. The JJ slight seemed pointed. He was gregarious with his teammates until the moment Flip put Heslip in, and from that point on he was pouting at the end of the bench...he can see the handwriting on the wall. Speaking of Heslip, it was fun to see the team rally around him every time he touched the ball. AB, Thad, Ronny and Pek led the cheers, and the team gave Brady a standing ovation when he scored, stole the ball, and grabbed an offensive rebound!

Since losing Love was the biggest off-season change, I really focused on Young and Bennett tonight, and I liked what I saw. They are different types of players, but both should contribute this year. While they will not be able to replace Love's production, they are clearly an upgrade on defense...both looked really good defensively. Active feet and hands, and effective in help defense too. AB's arms are freakishly long, and he uses them well defensively. And Thad must have known I was there and had been challenging his rebounding, because he rebounded well last night :thumb: .

Our PG's are very different players also, but we are going to join the Mo experience much more than the frustration of the JJ experience. Like JJ, Mo looks for his shot first, but unlike JJ, he doesn't force his shot. Every shot he takes is a "good" shot, and of course, he is a very adept shooter. He's not as careful with the ball as Ricky though. Both PG's really push the action, which I like, but Ricky has an uncanny ability to NOT turn the ball over, even when he looks out of control. While Ricky didn't pass well last night, he repeatedly split defenders and drew fouls while driving to the basket...7 for 8 on free throws last night, and only 1 turnover. Mo on the other hand turned the ball over 6 times (the rest of the team only had 7)...he needs to tighten it up. Defensively, both were superb. I didn't know Mo's defensive reputation, but I was pleasantly surprised. He is smart and active, and keeps the pressure on his man. And Ricky was his usual disruptive self. The thing I liked best about Ricky last night, though, was his effort to fight through screens. I haven't seen him do this regularly before (maybe Sid Lowe is helping him here?), and it's really going to help our defense.

Finally, Ricky shot well last night. He didn't get a chance to finish at the rim, because he was fouled on almost every drive before getting there, but it was really encouraging to see him make three mid-range jumpers (with more arc than we are used to seeing), and 1 for two on his 3-point set shots. It's just one night, but I liked what I saw. The Birthday Boy was clearly focusing on scoring the basketball more, and he did it effectively.

Bud looks nothing like the ineffective Bud of last year, on both sides of the ball. Nobody moves without the ball better than he does (except for K-Mart when he really wants to), and his teammates found him often. He blew 2 shots at the rim, or he would have had 16 points in 21 minutes. He looked smooth with his quick release on his threes, and made both of them. He still has a tendency to reach too much on defense, and that has resulted in a propensity to foul this pre-season, but his defense was acceptable. He looks great this pre-season, and I hope he gets regular minutes at the 2 backing up Martin.

Our centers were mixed in their performance. Tim called me out in another thread for pushing for a Pek trade to give Gorgui more minutes, and based on last night, I'm guilty as charged. Gorgui looked awkward and ineffective on offense, settling for low percentage fadeaway jumpers. And Pek continued his early season habit of missing layups. On the positive side, both rebounded well against a taller Hibbert, and passed better than we are used to...a couple assists for both. Pek's give and go pass to AB for an easy dunk was fun to watch.

Speaking of AB, it's great to see the UNLV version showing up in all three games rather than the pathetic Cavs version...he was our best player last night, despite being bothered by a sore knee (I kind of hope he doesn't play tonight)...gotta love 17 points in 17 minutes on 7 for 9 shooting (even if his first jumper was banked in, and clearly not intentionally :) ). He has the ability to score in so many ways...mid-range jumpers. using his long arms on the offensive glass, posting up, and breaking to the basket. I hope he can keep it up.

On the negative side, Shabazz and LaVine don't look like they will get regular minutes this year absent injuries...both look really ineffective on offense. Flip grimaced as Shabazz tried to go 1 on 4 on a fast break (not sure why they didn't give him a turnover), and Shabazz just doesn't provide any offensive flow...he never makes a pass that facilitates a basket. I'm losing patience with him. And Zach looks like the guy I watched at UCLA last year...not at all ready for the NBA. That's okay, because this team has plenty of depth, and Flip and staff can bring this interesting prospect along slowly. On the positive side, both Shabazz and Zach worked hard and were effective on defense.

I really like this coaching staff, even if they are height-challenged (except for Mitchell). Sam and Sid are active on the bench with the big men and PG's, respectively, and Flip worked the sidelines like it was a playoff game. This club is still getting used to Flip's systems, but I'm confident we will continue to see improvement offensively and defensively.

Just one game, and a preseason one at that, against a woeful Pacers team. But we beat them like we should have, saw rotations that are close to what we expect to see next week, and worked hard. I like our top 10 a lot, and Shabazz, Zach, Ronny, Robbie and GR3 will be fine if needed. This will be a fun club to watch this year.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

http://www.startribune.com/video/280006412.html#hpmrt

Zgoda actually does a pretty good job on these daily reports...here's his wrap up after last night's game.

The most irritating part of these videos? Watching Jerry's glasses gradually slip down, requiring him to adjust them. I usually post an adjustment over/under of five, and he went way over last night! Will somebody buy him some glasses that fit, please?

[Carlos Danger]

Good write up - thanks. My take on Heslip is that he's the "Rudy", but really reality has him not making the roster.

Regarding JJ...interesting notes. I suspect he'll make the team and maybe they deal him later in the year to a team that has injuries/need at PG. Mo has looked awesome, but something tells me to hold back my expectations he will be able to sustain that level of play. LaVine might benefit from some time in the D-league vs. reduced minutes with regular squad.

The final cut has to be made on Monday I believe...so, will be fun to finally see these guys play again on TV tonight. The stakes are high for the bubble guys.

[60WinTim]

Great report, LST! And yes, I've noticed the Zgoda eye glass adjustment over and over and over and over...

Hibbert dominated us down low in the first game, but Pek didn't play. Tonight was a different story. Pek is not going to protect the rim, and he is slow to close out on shooters, but he can play man defense in the post, something Dieng has struggled with in the preseason. I am happy to have both. And Pek's scoring down low could be the difference between a "good" season and a "great" season.

And I like your comments on Mo. He will come back down to earth, but he is superior to JJ in so many ways. Huge upgrade. Although I expect JJ will take Mo's place tonight...

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Nice write up LST. I like getting a report from close to the bench, like Lip does. I think Volans mentioned in the GDT how AB took a hard foul and still put down the dunk. If he can play like that, clean the glass and hit that mid-range jumper, he'll get plenty of minutes. If Mo and Bud stay healthy then I like our scoring off the bench this year if these performances are indicative of what's coming during the season.

Good to hear Rubio was getting more FT's last night. It's still bothersome that Pek keeps missing easy shots. It won't get any easier when we're in a close game late in the 4th quarter. I'm hoping he can be more aggressive and dunk more often with those shots.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Yep, I agree on Pek's man defense, Tim. He really uses his big frame effectively to keep his man away from the rim...he seemed to frustrate Hibbert last night.

JJ will get a lot of burn tonight, as Flip aims to keep his top ten fresh for next week. That's probably why he kept Heslip around for a couple more games too, to keep Ricky's minutes down. I expect a lot of JJ, Ronny, Zach and Robbie tonight...just what we need for an actual TV game!

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Good write up - thanks. My take on Heslip is that he's the "Rudy", but really reality has him not making the roster.

Regarding JJ...interesting notes. I suspect he'll make the team and maybe they deal him later in the year to a team that has injuries/need at PG. Mo has looked awesome, but something tells me to hold back my expectations he will be able to sustain that level of play. LaVine might benefit from some time in the D-league vs. reduced minutes with regular squad.

The final cut has to be made on Monday I believe...so, will be fun to finally see these guys play again on TV tonight. The stakes are high for the bubble guys.

Ha, Heslip really is playing the Rudy role! Good for team unity, as the bench got a kick out of his hustle...and Brady was enjoying the experience too. As Flip said, it's not inconceivable that some team will take a chance on him as a 3-point guy...he doesn't offer much else.

I completely agree with your LaVine to the D-League take. Two things are clear with Zach...he has unlimited potential, and he is in no way ready to play in the NBA yet. Blame that on his youth and undeveloped physique, but mostly on his coach Steve Alford. Alford never gave Zach much of a chance last year, and his inexperience is evident in pre-season. A stint in the D League will give him a chance to get some of the experience he didn't get in college, and the wide open nature of the league will allow him to use his athleticism and build some confidence. If the Wolves are healthy and still have Bud and JJ on the opening night roster, we have enough depth in the backcourt to allow Flip the luxury of sending Zach down. That will be beneficial for him long-term I think,

[Monster]

Thanks for the report. One issue I have is JJ see's the writing on the wall because some random camp body gets minutes over him? I don't think so. Why have they kept Heslip? I think they would have kept Fez longer but since he got sick for a while couldn't practice etc they decided to just let him go. Sometimes its good to have another body for practices if guys can't play because of injury or just to let guys have a rest.

Its good to hear these positive reports on Bennett. Zgoda tweet "Wolves Nationm you are gonna like Anthony Bennett" Its still preseason but its great to hear.

I wouldn't bail on Bazz quite yet lets remember he hasn't played real games for a while and likely rusty from his injury. A 1-4 in transition is ridiculous and that drives me batty though but yeah.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

It definitely sounds like Zach and Bazz should spend some time in the D League. Not sure why Bazz didn't more last year.

It seems strange to me that we haven't established the use of the D League as a true developmental league, either as a team or as the NBA as a whole. The league seems like the perfect solution for guys like Zach in particular. Send them there, give them plenty of playing time and hopefully some good coaching. Let them see how hard a lot of guys work just to make it to the NBA as a marginal player to humble them and give them some motivation. And hopefully after they've developed their game with lots of playing time, bring them on up.

Seriously, somebody in the NBA needs to be working on making that league a true developmental league that teams use, players respect, and that works. It'll never be quite like baseball, but there have been way too many busts over the years because of guys who just never really got the time to develop their game once they got to the NBA. Too many potential picks who weren't quite ready even though they could get there someday. Zach looks like one of those guys for sure. He could be a Monta Ellis type of guy, but he's not there yet, and I'm afraid if we don't get him plenty of playing time, he's going to end up being somebody else's Gerald Green if you know what I mean.

[bleedspeed]

Stop it RIGHT NOW!

Lavine will have a nice game tonight and everyone will say the kid is ready to contribute.

Seriously though. He would benefit from a true minor system. If they Wolves owned a team and controlled the coaching staff etc it would be a good thing for him.